Installation to eMMC with ceemmc tool and booting other OS

[iSlaker]

Thanks everyone, especially @vpeter! Something worked. I don’t know if it was your fw_setenv command or the fact that I literally opened this thing and starting shorting pins at random. It finally booted from the restoration SD card and I have stock rom again. I think I’m going to stay away from Voldemort for a while… and Harry too. Time to find a different wizard.

Again, thanks for the suggestions and keep up the good work.

[vpeter]

Just for curiosity did you tried to run restore sd card before using ceemmc?

[iSlaker]

yeah, I did. I used this very same restore SD card a couple times before to get rid of the shall-not-be-named OS and back to stock ROM

[vpeter]

Anyway, Good that you got resolved your issue but I don’t understand what was going on. Should replicate myself to understand more.

[vpeter]

I moved all discussion to separate topic.

[Erario]

I have the same problem with X96 Max Plus (S905X3 4G 1 Gb).
Once I installed CoreELEC 19 in the emmc I can no longer boot from USB3 with Armbian (the port used to start CoreELEC the first time).
But i can always boot from that usb port with another CoreELC installed on a flashpen, for example.
Booting by pressing the reset button with Armbian on USB3 was possible when native Android was on the emmc.
No problem with CoreELEC on emmc, I’ve been using it that way for over a year, but I can’t boot with anything else on MicroSD.
The only way (and I have tried) is to go back to Android firmware by debricking (jumper on pcb) and flashing with USB Burning Tool.

[Erario]

Unfortunately CoreELEC installed on emmc goes to compromise the Android bootloader, it would be helpful if there was a shell command to be able to reflash it without using reflashing methods that contemplate the use of MicroSD or crossed USB cables, since precisely CoreELEC compromises this possibility.
It would be enough or an option in CoreELEC’s power menu that would allow rebooting not only in bootloader that with multiboot put the tvbox in the Android recovery rather useless, but that it could actually boot from USB or MicroSD slot.

[vpeter]

The problem is that CoreELEC and Armbian (or other mainline distro) are using different booting approach which are not compatible.

But this doesn’t mean it is impossible to do it like I did for booting CoreELEC from eMMC and Batocera from USB/SD. I assume booting Armbian or something else would be similar.

But of course this is something CE can’t support beyond some help here.

HK1 doesn't boot from eMMC

boot CoreELEC from eMMC and run this commands to allows booting Batocera from USB stick fw_setenv start_usb_autoscript 'for usbdev in 0 1 2 3; do if fatload usb ${usbdev} ${loadaddr} s905_autoscript; then autoscr ${loadaddr}; fi; done;' fw_setenv start_mmc_autoscript 'if fatload mmc 0 ${loadaddr} s905_autoscript; then autoscr ${loadaddr}; fi;' fw_setenv bootfromusb 'usb start 0; run cfgloadusb; run start_usb_autoscript; if fatload usb 0 ${loadaddr} kernel.img; then run usbdtb; setenv bootargs $…

[Erario]

Now my X96Max Plus with “fw_setenv upgrade_step 3” boot exclusively by going into Android recovery, game over…
Unfortunately here CoreELC on emmc also erases the ability to perform recovery with the Burning Tool, i need to intervene at the hardware level in the tvbox (by making a jumper) to put it into recovery mode from USB.
It would be useful to have the ability in emergency to be able to do this from CoreELEC in shell.

[vpeter]

@Erario

It would be useful to have the ability in emergency to be able to do this from CoreELEC in shell.

How exactly if CE doesn’t boot…

@Erario

Unfortunately here CoreELC on emmc also erases the ability to perform recovery with the Burning Tool

This is probably not true.

[Erario]

I would also like it if it were not true.
I’ve tried a myriad of times to flash the Android image with the Burning Tool in that “stuck situation” but it won’t recognize it, the only one is to do the jumper on the pcb.

[Vasco]

So it’s a corner case in a device not officially supported by CE. I flashed dozens of devices using AML burning tool after having CE on emmc. From GXL/GXM devices to SC2 and T7.

[vpeter]

Maybe the problem is that if you mess with bootloader environment too much you get into void
But I’m not expert in this area. All I’m saying is that booting different OS is possible.

[Erario]

Definitely, I have other S905X3 but with those in recovery with the Buring Tool I always go there even with CoreELEC on the emmc, without open the tvbox.

[Erario]

I would also like to understand why this thing happens on this X96Max Plus with the bootloader.
Tried both dual boot and with only CoreELEC on the emmc, same issue.

[Erario]

But one positive thing however it does in this situation of boot stuck on Android recovery, it still boot from USB3 port with CoreELEC in the MicroSD, and with “ceemmc” I was able to restore it, at least CoreELEC from emmc now restarts.

EDIT

I solved by putting the files inside this zip in the Armbian MicroSD.
To select emmc or USB boot I have to turn on by pressing the switch inside the AV.
If it does not find USB it starts with CoreELEC, if it finds it it starts with Armbian.
Of course in case of reboot it remembers the last one used.
If i start from USB and on the next reboot you remove it CoreELEC does not start automatically, but just use the hardware switch trick.

autoscript_dual_boot_ok.zip (1.3 KB)